Are You Prepared for Class? Making the Most of Continuing Education

Do you prepare yourself to take a continuing education course? Instructors try tirelessly to engage students through detailed imagery, gamification, case study analysis, dynamic video, or even become an “edu-tain-er.” While these strategies will retain the attention of a distracted student, they are somewhat ineffective to the disengaged, or worse, the unprepared student.

Review what you know from your initial certification course. This fundamental knowledge is also the competency necessary to provide at the standard of care. A solid foundation is laid by our fundamental understanding of prehospital emergency medical care. If this baseline knowledge is not retained, this indicates a need for a refresher course, rather than traditional continuing education.

• Yes, dust off that old textbook. Consider purchasing a new textbook if yours is obsolete by a few editions.
• Review anatomy and physiology.
• Review signs, symptoms, conditions and treatments.

Review what you want to learn from the continuing education course. Asking the right questions is imperative in a quality patient assessment to truly understand our patient’s needs, as well as determining the care we provide. By continuing this practice in the classroom, formulating the right questions will form the pillars that will support your ability to grow as a provider.

• Reflect upon any patient encounters that were relevant to the subject.
• Question practices you’ve seen or heard of other providers utilizing.
• Prepare questions to ask the instructor regarding the subject.

Finally, review what you learned from the continuing education course. Gaining a better understanding or a more efficient practice leads to the fixtures and accessories that separate the good providers from the great providers.

• Were all of your questions answered? Accurately? Sufficiently?
• How does what you learned effect your patient assessment and/or care?
• Are there additional related subjects you now want to learn about?
• How can you share your newly acquired knowledge with other providers?

Instructors often bring a wealth of experiences and insight to a classroom, but many of the finest learning opportunities are collaborative, coming from your classmates and yourself. Prepare yourself to learn, engage yourself in both learning something new and sharing your own knowledge every day.

Justin Eberly, BS, EMT, EMS-I, CDEI, is an educational technologist by passion and an IT professional by vocation. He is a volunteer assistant chief and training officer for a combination volunteer/career basic life support service in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. As a young EMS educator, he brings a multitude of valuable perspectives to foster an environment, conducive to learner engagement, through the utilization of technology in EMS Education.